Even these powerful Legendary Pokémon won’t reach their full potential without help from their Trainer. Read on for some tips to help your new teammates perform better in battle. Whether you’re looking to battle other Trainers in Single or Double Battles, or just hoping to be coolest Trainer in Alola, training your Pokémon wisely will make them more impressive yet.

Training Tips

You’ll receive a different Legendary Pokémon depending on which game you use to redeem your code. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Sun games will receive Regigigas, while Pokémon Ultra Moon and Pokémon Moon will receive Heatran. Additionally, you’ll receive higher-level Pokémon that know stronger moves with Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon, and they’ll also be holding the highly sought after Gold Bottle Cap!

The Pokémon you receive with Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon will already be Level 100, which is required for Hyper Training. If you visit Mr. Hyper at Hau’oli City Shopping Mall and present him a Gold Bottle Cap, you can instantly max out your Legendary Pokémon’s individual strengths! That gets one big element of powering up your Pokémon out of the way.

Even though your Pokémon won’t need any more Exp. Points, you should take them into battle to train their base stats. It’s normally best to focus Regigigas’s training on HP and Attack, and it’ll perform best with an Adamant Nature. Heatran benefits from training most by further increasing its mighty Special Attack, while its Nature should help determine the other stat you train. HP for a Quiet Nature, Special Defense for Calm Nature, and Speed for Timid Nature, are all solid choices. Check out our guide to Raising Battle-Ready Pokémon for details.

Don’t forget you can help these high-level Pokémon relearn moves they’d normally learn by leveling up if you bring a Heart Scale to Madam Memorial on Mount Lanakila. You can collect Heart Scales easily by visiting restaurants across Alola.

A Slow Start

The Normal-type Regigigas is a Legendary Pokémon that’s typically very difficult to track down, but it really does exist. In fact, existing is Regigigas’s specialty on the battlefield—its high HP, Defense, Special Defense, and single type weakness make it tough to defeat. However, Regigigas also has a tough time defeating foes because its Slow Start Ability halves its Attack and Speed for the first five turns it’s in battle.

The key to battling with Regigigas is lasting through Slow Start, a challenge heightened by its unfortunate inability to learn Protect or Detect. Teaching it the paralysis-inflicting Thunder Wave is highly recommended. Paralysis sometimes stops the foe from moving and halves its Speed, which can greatly limit the mess your other Pokémon have to deal with. Consider Confuse Ray to stall them further and have Regigigas hold an HP-restoring Berry or Leftovers to help grind out turns.

Regigigas can learn attacks of several types, but none of them will deal impressive damage until Slow Start expires. Knock Off may be its best attack, as it provides value even during Slow Start by removing the opponent’s held item and gives Regigigas a way to damage Ghost-type Pokémon. Form a strong friendship with Regigigas to increase the power of its Return, or keep Crush Grip for a trendier Normal-type attack. Consider Drain Punch as a third attack: it helps against Rock- and Steel-type foes, and restores some HP, too.

Wide Guard enables Regigigas to provide respectable support in Double Battles. Its stout defensive stats make it a colossal pain for Pokémon like Charizard and Swampert that are often taught attacks that damage multiple foes. Regigigas can also lower the Speed of every Pokémon on the field with Bulldoze, or of just one with Rock Tomb. But be careful: Regigigas’s inability to use Protect is easy to exploit in Double Battles.

A Fiery Finish

Heatran is among the most powerful Pokémon permitted in facilities like the Battle Tree. The Fire- and Steel-type Pokémon has resistances against nine different types, and its stout defense makes it tough to take down. An exceptional Special Attack stat sets Heatran apart from more defensive Pokémon, allowing it to dish out attacks just as well as it takes them.

The Lava Dome Pokémon is the only Pokémon that can learn Magma Storm by leveling up. This Fire-type special attack has a respectable 100 base power, although it’s paired with a concerning 75 accuracy. Magma Storm also comes with an incredible effect: It prevents the target from switching and damages it for several turns, like a more powerful version of Fire Spin or Wrap. This can be a great way to ensure the target won’t switch out of a follow-up Z-Move, so consider giving Heatran Firium-Z or Groundium-Z. Magma Storm’s effect also nicely complements Toxic’s stacking damage.

Make sure to teach Heatran Earth Power, especially if you may encounter an opposing Heatran. The Flash Fire Ability prevents Heatran from taking damage from Fire-type attacks, so battling another Heatran will be a slog without it. If you’re looking for a third attack, an Ice- or Grass-type Hidden Power can cause surprise knockouts, while Flash Cannon provides added value against Rock-type foes.

Heatran’s prowess in Double Battles has made it a veteran of the Pokémon World Championships. Protect is a staple in Double Battles, and Substitute is nearly as popular—enabling Heatran to capitalize on foes that can’t damage it effectively. Magma Storm is a bit too quirky for Double Battles, but Heat Wave is a powerful replacement that can hit both opponents. One fun strategy is to pair Heatran with a Cresselia that knows Skill Swap: It gives Heatran the Levitate Ability and eliminates its severe weakness to Ground-type attacks!